The relegation battle in the Portuguese Primeira Liga is certainly a tight one. Two of the teams in the fight for top-flight survival, Nacional Madeira and Maritimo meet in Funchal on Friday night in a potentially vital local derby.
Nacional Madeira are currently just two points clear of the relegation play-off spot and the final relegation berth. A recent poor run of form in the league consisting of four straight defeats has put them in their current perilous position.
The key factor in recent defeats has been that Nacional Madeira concedes far too many goals, as they have let in at least two goals in all four of their recent league defeats.
The Islanders form at the Estadio da Madeira has not helped their chances of beating the drop either, as Nacional have lost four of their previous five league games on home soil.
Clean sheets have been hard to come by of late too, as they have kept just one clean sheet in nine home games in the Primeira Liga.
Nacional’s fellow Islanders are in even more trouble than their Funchal counterparts, as Maritimo currently sit bottom of the table. However, due to the congested nature of the bottom of the Primeira Liga table, they are just three points behind their rivals. A win in this clash would be massive.
Unfortunately for Maritimo, wins have been in short supply of late in the Portuguese top-flight. In fact, the visitors head into this clash on the back of an eight-game winless run in the Primeira Liga, having suffered seven defeats in the process.
Their recent away record has been slightly better, although they have still won just one of their previous eight matches on their travels in the Primeira Liga.
Forebet predicts that this derby clash will finish in a home win to move Nacional further away from the danger zone and deepen Maritimo’s fears of relegation this season.
Home
Football 
Basketball
Hockey
American Football
Baseball
Rugby
Volleyball
Handball
Esoccer
